Tag Archives: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

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PASSING THE BUCK (OF RESPONSIBILITY)….TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WHILE STEALING THEIR BUCKS

Early this month, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly ruled in favor of Governor Schwarzenegger’s efforts to rob Peter to pay Paul. Except in this case it’s the State of California being allowed to steal…..I mean borrow….money from local government redevelopment agencies to help cover the State’s massive budget deficits. The monies will be used to cover for cuts made in education funding.

As an employee at a small, non-profit that serves people with disabilities, in three Northern California counties, why should this concern me, especially when the people we help are getting slammed by other budget cuts to state programs/services? We certainly have bigger fights ahead of us (again) due to Arnold’s outrageously cruel budget revision. There are several reasons.

However one feels about the merits of redevelopment agency projects, there’s something inherently wrong with this. Money raised at the local level, through local taxes, for the purpose of a local benefit that is not being adequately addressed by the state or federal governments, is being taken to help cover for deficits at the state level. Then the Governor (with the support of many legislators) continues to refuse to discuss raising state taxes or fees when, in fact, they’re playing a shell game that further puts the onus on already financially stressed local governments. As the state makes still more cuts that burden local governments, and city officials are forced to slash local programs/services, who will citizens be more likely to scream at, but the city hall that is closest to them? Sacramento is just so far away.

One of the primary tasks of a redevelopment agency is to help stimulate employment and economic growth. This makes it more ironic that during a recession, when one focus is (supposedly) on such matters, that the Governor and his supporters undermine efforts to do so at the local level. They bemoan the overall lack of revenue coming into state coffers to fund programs/services as a result of the poor economy then use that as an excuse to further cut those programs/services. If the law requires a certain level of funding then the Governor seeks to backfill by taking from local governments or by redirecting funds designated by citizen initiatives. It seems like another big Catch-22, which is typical of Sacramento.

Redevelopment agencies also serve the less fortunate, who have been slammed from all sides in this recession by program/service cuts, rising prices and unemployment. Redevelopment agencies help provide affordable housing to low and moderate income residents, through rehabilitation loans, grants and assistance to first time home buyers. This is a major issue here in Humboldt County, and the lack of affordable housing is another major impediment to revitalizing the local economy.

Finally, my agency has experienced one (of many) direct, human effects of this redistribution of local tax dollars to Sacramento.

Our agency administers a grant program to help build residential ramps for low-income people with disabilities. In the past, the Eureka Redevelopment Agency has also offered a grant program for this purpose to Eureka residents and we were able to collaborate with them on several projects. This helped to further stretch the resources for both programs, while allowing many people with disabilities the chance to get out of their homes, live more independently and safely, and become more active members of their community. Such collaborations represent wiser use of tax dollars and grant monies and should not be undermined.

Unfortunately, with the support of the District Court, the Governor is now being allowed to do just that. A bad precedent may now become common policy and, once again, local governments get to be the fall guy.

Glenn Reed, Eureka

California, Environment, Health Care, San Francisco

It’s Official…I am Running for Governor of California

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(Well, this seems newsworthy. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

It’s official. Today, I became a candidate for governor because California needs a new direction.

EDITED by Brian: For space. Please see the flip for more.

I hope you will join me as we set out to build a campaign that does more than win an election. Together we can create the kind of campaign that changes California.

If you want to help us get off to a strong start, please contribute here.

In San Francisco, we’re showing what can be accomplished when we stop looking back and start looking for solutions.

We are the first, and still the only, city in America implementing universal health care. We’re proving what you already knew – it is less expensive to keep people well than it is to treat their sicknesses.

Join us and you can help take the fight for excellent and affordable health care to all of California.

Across California, teachers are facing layoff notices; but we are protecting teachers from layoffs, raising test scores and breaking down the barriers to a college education.



Contribute today and we’ll build the kind of campaign that can force Sacramento to stop arguing about better schools and start creating them.

The unemployment rate in California is soaring. But in San Francisco, the local economy is doing better because we helped attract new industries and new high-wage jobs. We are working together to grow our economy with a local stimulus plan that will put people back to work, starting with environmental initiatives and green-collar job training programs.

In San Francisco, we’ve done all of this while balancing our budgets  – and our bond rating has gone up, thanks to sound fiscal management and a rainy day reserve.

Join us, and we’ll create the kind of state government that stops searching for someone to blame and starts finding solutions.

The truth is, we can’t keep returning to the same old, tired ideas and expect a different result. If we take a new approach, and recognize that we are all in this together, I believe we can put California on a new path toward a better future.

Join us in a new kind of campaign that gives all of us the tools we need to make change. Join us on Facebook, Twitter or at www.GavinNewsom.com. Make your voice heard and help us make real change.

Some of you already know me. You know I am not afraid to stand up and fight for what’s right. From quality health care for everyone to equal rights for all Californians, I will do more than talk about problems – I will work with you to solve them.

We all know California can do better.



Let’s work together to set a new direction for California.

Join me on Twitter now. I am taking your questions.

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Rhetoric is not enough to protect farm workers from the heat

(Several people died in the fields last year, such a scenario should not be repeated. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Cal-OSHA has announced today that they are kicking off a campaign to train employers to protect farm workers from the heat. Ironically, the same agency just proposed changes that actually undermine the current regulations aimed to protect workers from dying or becoming ill from extreme heat.

Teaching growers how to avoid illness and deaths among their workforce is important, but it’s not enough. At the same time, the governor must make sure the laws are enforced. Such a system surely includes giving farm workers the tools to protect themselves.  

For the past four years, the United Farm Workers has worked tirelessly to prevent heat deaths. In response to pressure from the UFW and their supporters, Gov. Schwarzenegger issued heat regulations. Despite these regulations, six farm workers died in the summer of 2008-as the rules went unenforced and ignored by employers.

The evidence points to neglect–not ignorance–as the cause of farm worker deaths. Also, the state’s consistent reduction of fines for violations has made these regulations ineffective.

Please take action today and help us tell the governor that more of the same will not prevent deaths.  Farm workers need a system that works. This requires a multi-faceted approach which would include: enforcing existing laws, giving farm workers the tools to protect themselves, and seeking serious criminal penalties for those whose gross negligence has caused the death of innocent people.

Go to:

http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/heat309

California, education

Speaking Out Against The Governor’s Budget Cuts

“The Governor can’t manufacture money” is what one person said after I described how his cutbacks will harm our schools.  I replied, “Yes, but he can manufacture leadership.”  

The preceding is from an Op Ed I wrote for my local paper recently.  I serve on a school board in San Leandro, California.  All Californians need to speak out against the Governor’s proposed budget cuts.  We need to pressure him and the Legislature to develop solutions to the revenue shortfall that do not harm our children and the most vulnerable of our society.

Here is my Op Ed on the 2008 State Budget Crisis:

My oldest daughter will start Kindergarten in public school in San Leandro next August.  I know she will receive excellent instruction from dedicated and caring teachers.   Her education, however, will not be shaped solely by my wife and me, her teachers, principal, other involved parents and school board.  

The federal government has intruded in education through the No Child Left Behind Act.  NCLB establishes wholly unrealistic standards of performance for our public schools.  When schools do not meet these standards, they are labeled failures, triggering a set of escalating sanctions ending in the conversion of our public schools into charter schools.  

Congress is debating whether to reauthorize NCLB.  If Congress applied the same performance measurements to itself, Congress would receive an “F.”  The federal government should offer a helping hand to schools in need, not punitive sanctions.

Decisions made in Sacramento in the coming months will also greatly impact our schools.  California has a centralized system for funding public education.  The Governor and Legislature, not local school boards, determine the amount of property taxes and state aid each school district receives.  This is why even when property tax receipts increase, our schools do not necessarily benefit.

Sacramento deserves an “F” in the category of school finance.  According to Education Week, California ranks 47th in the nation in spending per student when accounting for regional cost differences, spending $1,900 less per student than the national average.  West Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi all outrank California.  

What do these statistics mean?  The 6.3 million children in California public schools attend some of the most crowded classrooms and have the fewest counselors and librarians in the nation.

Last August, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a budget that he called responsible, noting it limited “spending growth to less than 1 percent.”  Since then there has been a meltdown in the housing market.  State revenues have dropped precipitously.  Nevertheless, Governor Schwarzenegger claims state expenditures are excessive.  He proposes cutting billions from K-12 education to balance the budget.

“The Governor can’t manufacture money” is what one person said after I described how his cutbacks will harm our schools.  I replied, “Yes, but he can manufacture leadership.”  Upon taking office, Governor Schwarzenegger reduced the vehicle license fee. That created an annual $4 billion hole in the budget, about the same amount he now seeks to slash from education.

Governor Schwarzenegger once promised voters he would “protect California’s commitment to education funding.”  Our public schools are the only state-funded agency that depends upon car washes, bake sales and magazine subscription drives to function.  Yet, the Governor rules out any tax increases to address the revenue shortfall.   His call for 2008 to be the Year of Education has become a cruel joke.  

Leadership is ultimately by example.  The Schwarzenegger household will be unaffected by the budget cuts.  His children attend a private school that charges over $25,000 a year in tuition.  In San Leandro, spending per student in 2006 was $6,916.  

Our society will not flourish if only the children of the rich attend schools that offer quality teaching in small classrooms, music and arts education, foreign languages, sports, access to technology and well-stocked libraries.  California’s future depends on our public schools receiving the resources necessary to succeed.  

Please note, I am speaking for myself, not the San Leandro School Board.

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Schwarzenegger Says: Toll Road Good for the Environment

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Today, Governor Schwarzenegger has decided to end his neutral stance regarding the controversial Foothills South tollway project. In a letter to the Coastal Commission the governor states, “I have concluded that this project is essential to protect our environment and the quality of life for everyone in California,.” he further claims, “[t]he project can be built in a manner that will enhance and foster use of the coast and protect coastal resources.”[Link]
Schwarzenegger's position regarding the protection of San Onofre State Beach should come as no surprise here. It was just last week the governor proposed closing 48 state parks as part of his plan to balance the state budget.[Link] This governor like to talk about the environment, but it actually comes to action his ring hollow.
Cross-posted at San Diego Politico
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While California Dreams- Weekly Update Vol.1 No. 16

This article written by: Former Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson of Speak Out California

A weekly update on the goings-on in Sacramento
For the week ending September 22, 2007

Key bills and issues we’ve been following during the past week and beyond

Now that the regular session of the legislature has ended and a variety of bills are waiting the Governor’s approval or veto, the special session is in full gear. The big battles over water and health care reform have taken over the stage front- and -center. And with Hillary Clinton’s unveiling of her version of healthcare reform, the issue has become even more prevalent in political debate not only in California, but nationwide.

With a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California coming out this week as well, we’ve seen how the failure to produce meaningful healthcare reform and a swift resolution of the annual budget stand-off has impacted the popularity of our Governor and the legislature. Not good news for either side.

Talk of ballot initiatives already moving along, plus threats of new ones emerging for 2008 continue to gain public attention and comment. With the veto last week by the Governor of the Iraq War initiative, which would have allowed Californians to register their opinion on that military and political fiasco, some of the interest has been muted in the early measures, but there is still enough out there (not the least of which are the Presidential primaries) to keep the public interested for the next several months.

And now for the week’s goings-on please visit our website HERE